To stimulate new ideas for the future, The Florida Space Institute at UCF hosted Space Day on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at the FAIRWINDS Alumni Center on the UCF Campus. More than 100 people attended.
“The primary purpose of the event was to give greater insight into future collaborative opportunities between UCF and Kennedy Space Center’s research and technology office — and it was well received,” said Alan Stern, the director of The Florida Space Institute, which sponsored the event.
Karen Thompson, NASA KSC Chief Technologist kicked off the morning by talking about past NASA-UCF collaborations and sharing a vision for the future. The storage, distribution and conservation of fluids, materials for life cycle optimization, advancing habitation systems, space launch, and suborbital technology are among some of the key topics that NASA discussed.
The Florida Space Institute is a collaboration among Florida universities and colleges. FSI’s goal is to develop a strong synergistic space program for UCF and it’s partners.
UCF has a long and unique history tied to the space program at Kennedy Space Center. UCF was formed in 1963, first as Florida Technological University in part to train workers for the Apollo program. Since then, UCF’s faculty members and students have continued to feed the space industry with talented graduates, innovative research projects, and educational opportunities.